The cuisine varies, although most restaurants have a mixed menu which includes both Arabic and European dishes.
National specialities:
• Meze (small starters such as fool, humus, kube and tabouleh).
• Kebabs.
• Mahshi Waraq ’inab (vine leaves stuffed with rice, minced meat and spices).
• Musakhan (chicken in olive oil and onion sauce roasted on Arab bread).
• Mensaf (stewed lamb in a yogurt sauce served on a bed of rice), a dish which is normally eaten with the hand.
• Baklava (pastry filled with nuts or honey).
• Kanafa (pastry filled with nuts or goats cheese).
• Ataif (small fried pancakes filled with nuts or cheese and traditionally eaten during Ramadan).
• Mohallabiya (milk-based pudding perfumed with rose water or orange).
National drinks:
• Drinking Arabic coffee is a ritual. Coffee tends to be very strong and is served in small cups (with plenty of coffee grounds at the bottom).
• Local beer, wine and other types of alcohol are served in most restaurants and bars, except during the fasting month of Ramadan (non-Arabic nationals can drink alcohol only in hotels during Ramadan).
• Araq is a local liquor similar to Greek Ouzo, usually mixed with water and ice.
Tipping: 10 to 12 per cent service charge is generally added in hotels and restaurants, and extra tips are discretionary. Porters’ and drivers’ tips are about 8 per cent.

There are nightclubs, theatres and cinemas in Amman, while some other major towns have cinemas. Often clubs will only admit couples or mixed groups. Many of the 4- and 5-star hotels have popular clubs and bars.

Every town will have a souk (market), and there are also many good craft and jewellery shops. There is a particularly good gold and jewellery market in Amman. Special items include: Hebron glass; mother-of-pearl boxes; pottery; backgammon sets; embroidered tablecloths; jewelled rosaries and worry beads; nativity sets made of olive wood; leather hassocks; old and new brass and copper items; and caftans hand-embroidered with silver and gold thread. Jordan is famous for its gold and silver; the centre of Amman has a gold souk with over 50 shops. Necklaces with a small golden coffee pot (dalleh) – a national symbol – are popular and widely available. Shopping hours: Sat-Thurs 0930-1330 and 1530-1800, some open as early as 0800 and close at 2000. Shops are closed Friday except for the souk.